Introducing Cultural Diversity of European Cities to Youth Good practice example

21st Century societies are increasingly demanding youth workforces that are creative, flexible, adaptable and innovative and education systems need to evolve with these shifting conditions. However, the conception and the breadth of arts and culture curricula vary in education for professions in the field of Fine Arts. In particular, a new focus on creativity (in relation to its importance in innovation and entrepreneurship) and cultural education (in relation to both individual identity and promoting intercultural understanding) is apparent in the goals of vocational education and training. This raises questions about the ability of the arts and culture curriculum in VET to fulfil such diverse and wide-ranging aims. On the other hand, teaching the arts and culture to a high standard is challenging. Teachers who teach the arts and culture subjects in VET play a fundamental role in developing the creative skills. There is the need for continuing professional development, to enable arts teachers to update their knowledge and develop their skills. Utilising the momentum created by the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage, InART2DiverCity project developed new and effective approaches, methods and materials to introduce/reinforce European Cultural Heritage and intercultural learning, with the view to enhance the skills and employability of young adults (age group 18-30) in the creative sectors, as well as the professional skills of trainers (train-the-trainers). The project developed five intellectual outputs, namely O1 - Research and evaluation analysis of educational and training needs for the specific sector and consolidated report; O2 - Development of Alternative Pedagogical Methodology and Training practices to train the trainers; O3 - Development of training seminars for young VET students and Lexicon O4 - InArt2DiverCity Web Portal and Culture and Creative Community Essential for the project is the idea of “smart culture” and the Experiential Learning. Target Groups: - Young adults in the age of 18-30 who are in vocational education centers studying for professions which are directly affected by Fine Arts (like Graphic designers, multimedia programmers, fashion designers, Economics and Management in the Field of Culture Executives, Associate professionals in Artistic Studies and Applied Arts) - Fine Arts Trainers who will have to train-the-trainers of VET centers on Cultural Diversity of the participating countries. Indirect groups: youth groups who will be indirectly involved in the project and young local artists who will have the chance to interact with artists from other countries, exchange artistic techniques and be inspired. The InArt2DiverCity project created the conditions for adult young people to participate to Pedagogical Methodology focused in the artistic expression, through this methodology, they will be able to improve their performance. In addition, the project helped the students to find their cultural identity and acquire more knowledge about cultural diversity.